Psalms 50:23

50:23 Whoever presents a thank-offering honors me. ¹ 

To whoever obeys my commands, I will reveal my power to deliver.” ² 

Matthew 5:16

5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

John 15:8

15:8 My Father is honored ³  by this, that ⁴  you bear ⁵  much fruit and show that you are ⁶  my disciples.

Acts 4:21

4:21 After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising ⁷  God for what had happened.

Acts 11:18

11:18 When they heard this, ⁸  they ceased their objections ⁹  and praised ¹⁰  God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance ¹¹  that leads to life even to the Gentiles.” ¹² 

Acts 21:19-20

21:19 When Paul ¹³  had greeted them, he began to explain ¹⁴  in detail ¹⁵  what God ¹⁶  had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised ¹⁷  God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews ¹⁸  there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers ¹⁹  of the law. ²⁰ 

Galatians 1:24

1:24 So ²¹  they glorified God because of me. ²² 

Galatians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²³  an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead)

Galatians 2:9

2:9 and when James, Cephas, ²⁴  and John, who had a reputation as ²⁵  pillars, ²⁶  recognized ²⁷  the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me ²⁸  the right hand of fellowship, agreeing ²⁹  that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ³⁰ 

Galatians 4:11

4:11 I fear for you that my work for you may have been in vain.

¹ sn The reference to a thank-offering recalls the earlier statement made in v. 14. Gratitude characterizes genuine worship.

² tn Heb “and [to one who] sets a way I will show the deliverance of God.” Elsewhere the phrase “set a way” simply means “to travel” (see Gen 30:36; cf. NRSV). The present translation assumes an emendation of וְשָׂם דֶּרֶךְ (vÿsam derekh) to וְשֹׁמֵר דְּרָכַּי (vÿshomer dÿrakhay, “and [the one who] keeps my ways” [i.e., commands, see Pss 18:21; 37:34). Another option is to read וְשֹׁמֵר דַּרְכּוֹ (vÿshomer darko, “and [the one who] guards his way,” i.e., “the one who is careful to follow a godly lifestyle”; see Ps 39:1).

³ tn Grk “glorified.”

⁴ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause is best taken as substantival in apposition to ἐν τούτῳ (en toutw) at the beginning of the verse. The Father is glorified when the disciples bring forth abundant fruit. Just as Jesus has done the works which he has seen his Father doing (5:19-29) so also will his disciples.

⁵ tn Or “yield.”

⁶ tc Most mss (א A Ψ Ë¹³ 33 Ï) read the future indicative γενήσεσθε (genhsesqe; perhaps best rendered as “[and show that] you will become”), while some early and good witnesses (Ì^66vid B D L Θ 0250 1 565 al) have the aorist subjunctive γένησθε (genhsqe; “[and show that] you are”). The original reading is difficult to determine because the external evidence is fairly evenly divided. On the basis of the external evidence alone the first reading has some credibility because of א and 33, but it is not enough to overthrow the Alexandrian and Western witnesses for the aorist. Some who accept the future indicative see a consecutive (or resultative) sequence between φέρητε (ferhte) in the ἵνα (Jina) clause and γενήσεσθε, so that the disciples’ bearing much fruit results in their becoming disciples. This alleviates the problem of reading a future indicative within a ἵνα clause (a grammatical solecism that is virtually unattested in Attic Greek), although such infrequently occurs in the NT, particularly in the Apocalypse (cf. Gal 2:4; Rev 3:9; 6:4, 11; 8:3; 9:4, 5, 20; 13:12; 14:13; 22:14; even here, however, the Byzantine mss, with א occasionally by their side, almost always change the future indicative to an aorist subjunctive). It seems more likely, however, that the second verb (regardless of whether it is read as aorist or future) is to be understood as coordinate in meaning with the previous verb φέρητε (So M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek §342). Thus the two actions are really one and the same: Bearing fruit and being Jesus’ disciple are not two different actions, but a single action. The first is the outward sign or proof of the second – in bearing fruit the disciples show themselves to be disciples indeed (cf. 15:5). Thus the translation followed here is, “that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples.” As far as the textual reading is concerned, it appears somewhat preferable to accept the aorist subjunctive reading (γένησθε) on the basis of better external testimony.

⁷ tn Or “glorifying.”

⁸ tn Grk “these things.”

⁹ tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.

¹⁰ tn Or “glorified.”

¹¹ sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).

¹² sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Or “to report,” “to describe.” The imperfect verb ἐξηγεῖτο (exhgeito) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

¹⁵ tn BDAG 293 s.v. εἷς 5.e has “καθ᾿ ἕν one after the other (hence τὸ καθ᾿ ἕν ‘a detailed list’: PLille 11, 8 [III bc]; PTebt. 47, 34; 332, 16) J 21:25. Also καθ᾿ ἕν ἕκαστον…Ac 21:19.”

¹⁶ sn Note how Paul credited God with the success of his ministry.

¹⁷ tn Or “glorified.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “how many thousands there are among the Jews.”

¹⁹ tn Or “are all zealous for the law.” BDAG 427 s.v. ζηλωτής 1.a.β has “of thing…τοῦ νόμου an ardent observer of the law Ac 21:20.”

²⁰ sn That is, the law of Moses. These Jewish Christians had remained close to their Jewish practices after becoming believers (1 Cor 7:18-19; Acts 16:3).

²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the report about Paul’s conversion.

²² tn The prepositional phrase ἐν εμοί (en emoi) has been translated with a causal force.

²³ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

²⁴ sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

²⁵ tn Or “who were influential as,” or “who were reputed to be.” See also the note on the word “influential” in 2:6.

²⁶ sn Pillars is figurative here for those like James, Peter, and John who were leaders in the Jerusalem church.

²⁷ tn The participle γνόντες (gnontes) has been taken temporally. It is structurally parallel to the participle translated “when they saw” in v. 7.

²⁸ tn Grk “me and Barnabas.”

²⁹ tn Grk “so,” with the ἵνα (Jina) indicating the result of the “pillars” extending the “right hand of fellowship,” but the translation “they gave…the right hand of fellowship so that we would go” could be misunderstood as purpose here. The implication of the scene is that an agreement, outlined at the end of v. 10, was reached between Paul and Barnabas on the one hand and the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church on the other.

³⁰ tn Grk “to the circumcision,” a collective reference to the Jewish people.